1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a grill device, more particularly to a grill device with a connecting unit for preventing wobbling of an upper grill unit relative to a lower grill unit during movement from a closed position to an open position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional grill device 9 is shown to include a lower grill unit 91 with a rear side 913, an upper grill unit 92 with a rear side 923, and a connecting unit which interconnects the rear sides 923, 913 of the upper and lower grill units 92, 91 in such a manner that the upper grill unit 92 can be turned rearward relative to the lower grill unit 91 from a closed position to a horizontal fully open position, in which the upper and lower grill units 92, 91 are generally coplanar (not shown) and upper and lower cooking members 921, 911 of the grill units 92, 91 face upward, and a half-open position, in which a surface of the upper grill unit 92 abuts against a corner edge of the lower grill unit 91 so as to position the upper grill unit 92 on the lower grill unit 91, as best shown in FIG. 1.
As illustrated, the connecting unit includes a pivot seat 93 which is fixed on and which extends upwardly from the rear side 913 of the lower grill unit 91 and which has opposite left and right sides 930 formed with a pair of vertical slots 931, and left and right cylindrical pivots 924 which are fixed on the rear side 923 of the upper grill unit 92 and which extend laterally into the slots 931 in the lower grill unit 91. Under this condition, the upper grill unit 92 can be vertically raised along the slots 931 relative to the lower grill unit 1 by virtue of a piece of meat confined between the upper and lower grill units 92, 91 when the upper grill unit 92 is at the closed position.
Some disadvantages encountered during use of the aforesaid conventional grill device 9 are as follows:
1. When moving the upper grill unit 92 from the closed position to the half-open position, the upper grill unit 92 wobbles relative to the lower grill unit 91 in the vertical direction due to unrestricted movement of the pivots 924 in the slots 931.
2. In addition, the upper grill unit 92 also wobbles in left and right directions relative to the lower grill unit 91 since no movement-restricting member is provided between the upper and lower grill units 92,91.
The object of this invention is to provide a grill device with a connecting unit that can eliminate the occurrence of the aforesaid disadvantages which result during use of the conventional grill device.
Accordingly, a grill device of the present invention includes a horizontal upper grill unit with a rear side, a horizontal lower grill unit with a rear side, and a connecting unit. The upper grill unit is superposed on the lower grill unit, and has a bottom that is provided with an upper cooking member. The lower grill unit has a top that is provided with a lower cooking member. The connecting unit interconnects the rear sides of the upper and lower grill units in such a manner that the upper grill unit can be turned rearward from the lower grill unit to an open position, in which the upper and lower grill units are generally perpendicular to each other. The connecting unit includes a pair of spaced apart left and right pivot seats, an intermediate pivot seat, and left and right cylindrical pivots. The left and right pivot seats are fixed on and extend upward from the rear side of the lower grill unit. The intermediate pivot seat is fixed on and extends upwardly from the rear side of the lower grill unit between the left and right pivot seats. Left and right sides of the intermediate pivot seat are formed with a pair of vertical slots. The left and right cylindrical pivots are fixed on the rear side of the upper grill unit between the left and right pivots, and extend laterally into the slots in the intermediate pivot seat, thereby strengthening pivotal coupling between the upper grill unit and the lower grill unit. The intermediate pivot seat further has a front curved wall between the left and right sides, and a limiting member which is fixed on the intermediate pivot seat and which has two parallel curved guide rails surrounding the front curved wall. The rear side of the upper grill unit has a pair of spaced apart limiting holes that permit the curved guide rails to extend fittingly therethrough so as to be turnable therealong and so as to enable smooth rotation of the cylindrical pivots within the slots in the intermediate pivot seat, thereby preventing left and right movement of the upper grill unit relative to the lower grill unit during rotation of the cylindrical pivots within the slots in the intermediate pivot seat.